“Oh, God,” Holly murmured, following the sound of retching.

  Holly found Sarah bent over the toilet. She knelt beside her and scraped her hair back, trying not to breathe through her nose.

  “Better out than in,” she murmured, rubbing her friend’s back. Barely a fortnight and she was already running to her rescue.

  “I’m sorry,” Sarah moaned, her voice echoing off the toilet bowl. “You must think I’m a total freak.”

  “Nope. I think you’re going through something,” she replied. “And I was just beside you when it happened.”

  Sarah groaned and swatted at her forehead. “I think I’m going to pop again…”

  Holly pushed to her knees and scraped her fingers through Sarah’s hair as she hurled again. She was about to grab a face washer from the basin beside the toilet when her vision clouded.

  The glimpse slammed into her harder than the vodka had hit Sarah’s stomach.

  Dark, rugged bushland. Mullock heaps. A gloomy hole bordered with splintered and weathered wood. A man flung in a hole, caught on rubble. Blood coating his shirt.

  ‘Wait…’ a voice rasped. ‘Come back.’

  Holly gasped, her ears buzzing as the bathroom came back into view, the white tiles melting through the darkness.

  “Ugh,” Sarah rasped. “Why did I open the vodka?”

  “C’mon,” Holly murmured, thankful she hadn’t seemed to notice her faze out. “Let’s put you to bed, huh?” She helped Sarah splash some water on her face and wash out her mouth, then guided her to her bedroom.

  After taking off her friend’s shoes, Holly settled the blankets around her shoulders. “I’ll be right back, okay? I’ll get you some water and something to eat.”

  Sarah buried her face into the pillow and moaned, but whatever she said was unintelligible.

  Tiptoeing from the room, Holly found the kitchen and began searching for the cups, opening all the cupboards until she found a set of mismatched glassware.

  Holly’s mind raced as she turned on the cold tap.

  Darkness, shadows, and blood.

  She’d seen Sarah’s dad; she was sure of it.

  Could she have prevented this, too? Maybe, but it would’ve been a stretch. How could she have foreseen Marty Dunne disappearing from those scarce images? She couldn’t, even though she wished she could’ve. Her glimpse had been way too vague and only had context because she already knew what was going on.

  She cursed as water splashed over her hands from the overfilled glass. Had she just seen what’d happened to Marty Dunne?

  CHAPTER 8

  Holly spent a restless night on Sarah’s couch.

  The more she dwelt on her glimpse, the more details seemed to come into focus. At first, the images had been hazy, but contemplation brought a better understanding—like a missing piece she’d been denied all her life. She’d never seen anything with such clarity before.

  The vision was still vague at best, like a patchwork of images collaged together, but they appeared in her mind her like crisp photographs.

  Was the universe trying to tell her where she could find Marty Dunne?

  It was a possible future—all her glimpses were—so there was still time to do something. But if she told someone, it might implicate her in a way she wasn’t expecting and reveal her ‘talent’ at the same time. Her fresh start would go right down the toilet, just like Sarah’s stomach lining.

  At the thought of her friend and the epic hangover she was currently nursing, Holly knew she had to do the right thing. She had to tell someone so they knew where to look…and maybe this time it wouldn’t be too late.

  At that moment, the first and only person she thought about was the new police detective, Jin. He was new in town too, and he’d be impartial to the gossip mill.

  Holly stared at the ceiling as she recalled her conversation with him at the oval. He’d spoken with a definite Australian accent, tinged with his native Chinese, and she wondered if he was born here or if he’d immigrated to Australia from somewhere in China.

  She found him handsome, interesting, friendly, warm, and it was that assessment which made her decide he was the one person she should tell about her glimpse. He was in the position to do something about it and— she knew she could trust him—though Holly didn’t understand why.

  Rolling off the couch, she folded the blanket she’d borrowed and set the pillows back in place. Then she went into the bedroom to check on Sarah.

  “Sarah?”

  The tousled lump on the bed made an uncomfortable groaning sound. “What?”

  “I’m headed out. Will you be all right?”

  “Don’t talk so loud…”

  She took that as a no. “If you need anything, just call, okay?”

  There was no response. Sarah seemed to have fallen asleep again, so Holly backed out into the hall and grabbed her phone and keys from the lounge.

  She was fumbling through the map app, looking for the address of the police station, when she opened the front door.

  “Hey.”

  Holly let out a startled yelp as she saw Patrick standing on the verandah. “Bloody hell,” she cursed. “Give me a heart attack next time.”

  “Sorry. I was just about to knock.” He shrugged. “How are you? I heard you spent yesterday wrangling the barbecue at the oval.”

  “I bet you did.”

  “Yeah…” Patrick frowned. “Can I go in?”

  “Uh, I guess…but she’s got a brutal hangover and she’s mad at you.”

  The bartender grimaced. “I promised I’d help her out the other night, but I got tied up at the pub.”

  Holly narrowed her eyes. “Then you better tell her that.”

  She went to step around him, but he edged in front of her. “Did I do something to make you dislike me?”

  She blinked, not really understanding where the hostility was coming from herself. “I barely know you.”

  He glanced over her shoulder at the open door. “I know enough about you to know you’re worth it.”

  She tightened her grip on her phone. “What?”

  “Knowing.”

  She wanted to like Patrick, and she did to a certain degree, but there was something about him that had her on edge. Maybe it was just their unfamiliarity and once they got to know one another better, it’d go away. It was called giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.

  “Listen, I uh…” She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “I’ve gotta go do a few things. Head inside if you want, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

  Patrick chuckled. “I’ve known Sarah a long time. Believe me, I know.”

  “Are you two…?”

  “Oh no,” he replied with a laugh. “We’re just friends.”

  Holly stood awkwardly for a moment. “Well, I’ve gotta go.” She waved at the open door. “Good luck.”

  Leaving Patrick behind, she got into her car and sped off. Why did she ask that? It wasn’t like she cared. Romance was the furthest thing from her mind and had been for a while now. A long string of miserable attempts—not to mention deadbeat morons who only had one thing on their agenda—had turned her right off.

  Who knew where her life was going? She sure as hell didn’t, and it was about to be especially more uncertain after she found Jin.

  The oval was on the way to the station, so she decided to check in there first.

  Parking beside Sarah’s silver hatchback, she killed the engine and scanned the oval.

  She spotted the detective standing by a police 4WD with a group of men, studying a map they’d laid across the bonnet. They were probably planning out the search grid for the day and she hesitated, not wanting to barge up to him with so many people around.

  Her stomach churned and she wrung her hands under the steering wheel as she studied him. He’d swapped his shirt and slacks from the day before and was wearing a tight T-shirt, trousers, and boots more suitable for hiking. The detective was lean, yet muscled, though he wasn’t that tall compared to the other men. But despite all that, he had a presence about him that drew her eye every time…like there was something familiar about him. But for the life of her, she couldn’t place what it was.

  Holly checked her watch as her nerves tried to get the best of her. She had to say something now, otherwise he’d be gone for the entire day, and then it might be too late by the time he got back.

  It was now or never.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat, got out of the car, and crossed the oval, the dew on the manicured grass dampening the toes of her sneakers. “Excuse me, detective?”

  Jin turned and tilted his head when he saw her behind him. “Miss Burke,” he said with a smile. “What can I do for you?”

  Her words caught in her throat, but she managed to blurt, “Are you headed out with the search party?”

  “Yes.” He studied her in that piercing way cops had—the one that instantly made her feel guilty even though she hadn’t done anything.

  “I think…” she glanced at the SES workers milling about the map, “I-I think I know where you might find him.”

  Jin’s expression faded, and he pressed a hand lightly on her back, guiding her away from the commotion. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s not… I wasn’t involved.” Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest. Knowing she was weird was one thing, but telling a cop was a whole other ballgame. “You’re going to think I’m mad—” Her throat tightened. Damn, she hated confrontation.

  “Don’t worry about that,” he said kindly. “Believe me, I’ve seen it all.”

  She was sure he had, but prophetic visions…?

  “I—” Her voice caught. It was best to just blurt it out like projectile vomit. “I-I see things.”

  “Visions?” He didn’t seem as surprised as she thought he’d be.

  Holly nodded. “I call them glimpses because that’s all they are…just jumbled flashes. I’ve had them too many times for them to be coincidences, and I…” Her cheeks flared and she wrung her hands. “Last night…”

  “What did you see?”

  Despite herself, Holly began to tremble.

  “It’s okay, Miss Burke,” Jin murmured. “I’m not about to pass judgement on you. If you can help us find Marty Dunne, then I’ll take whatever you can give me. We’re at the end of our rope out here, and I don’t want to give his daughter bad news.”

  “Holly,” she said. “Call me Holly.”

  “Holly.”

  His voice rippled through her, and she relaxed. “He’s in the diggings,” she told him. “At the bottom of an old mine. A vertical shaft held open by rotting wood beams. It looks like it collapsed a long time ago, and he’s caught at the bottom. There’s blood…”

  “There are a lot of mines out there,” Jin said. “Not all of them are on the map. Did you see any markers? Anything that stood out?”’

  “There were two mullock heaps close together. They touched…” She closed her eyes, trying to recall the image. “A gum tree was growing between them…it has a kink in its trunk, like the letter ‘s.’”

  Her clue seemed to satisfy the detective. “Have you told anyone else about this?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t… I mean…” She took a deep breath. “I don’t tell anyone about what I see, but this seemed important.”

  Jin worried his bottom lip and leaned closer. “Good. Keep it that way.”

  His tone startled her, but she nodded. “I intend to.”

  Jin placed a hand on her arm. His skin was cold through the fabric of her top and she shivered. “I just… I hope you find him before…”

  “Holly, you did the right thing.”’

  She looked up at him, on the verge of tears. “Did I?”

  His expression was grave, and it only made her second guess herself.

  “Your secret’s safe with me,” he murmured.

  Holly took a step back and wrapped her arms around her middle. Now she’d told someone about her glimpse she felt relieved, but why did she have such a sinking feeling in her gut? It was as if she’d opened something she couldn’t close and now…

  Without another word, she turned and hurried back to her car, hoping she’d done the right thing.

  Jin’s gaze remained fixed on her back as he watched Holly leave.

  He’d hoped he was right about her—that she had no magic—but maybe she was a witch, after all.

  He swallowed hard as a flash of his past life came back to haunt him. If she was right about this, and her ‘glimpse’ led him to Marty Dunne’s body, then she was in terrible danger. Her one saving grace was that she didn’t know about the supernatural world, let alone her family history. To her, he was the new detective, Patrick was just a bartender, and Sarah Dunne was her friend.

  Holly Burke was also the reason he was still able to walk in the sun. As long as a Burke witch lived, then the spell protecting him would never break.

  The more Jin learned about modern day Dunloe, the more he was certain Holly had gone into the diggings, descended into the Union Reef Mine, and used her blood to save him. But had she gone into that godforsaken hole of her own free will…or was she lured?

  Was it simply a coincidence that she’d been there? He scoffed and turned back to the search party. Of course, it was.

  Sighing, he gestured to the men. He knew Holly’s vision would lead them to Marty Dunne’s body, which meant he had a murder to cover up. It was going to be a long day.

  He sent off the first three teams into quadrants close to the area he suspected Holly had seen in her vision. Then he compelled Hank to follow him into the diggings. The constable was easier to mould than wet clay, his brain a flimsy wad of flesh housing an even weaker consciousness.

  What a waste of taxpayer dollars, Jin thought as they made their way deeper into the rugged bushland.

  He was aiming for the heart of the diggings, a path that took a good hour or two with a human bringing up the rear, but Hank was a necessity. Thankfully, Jin had the foresight to compel the constable to shut up and keep walking.

  He was just short of seriously considering carrying the human when he saw it. Two mullock heaps close together, hugging a twisted gum tree.

  Still hard at work, he thought. All that death for nothing…

  “Detective?”

  “There it is,” he said with a shake of his head. “Now look around for a mine shaft.”

  “Righty-oh.” The constable moved off and began searching,

  Fortunately, Jin had plenty of experience with mining, having worked on the diggings back when they were full of noise and life. Judging from the location of the mullock heaps and the faint tinge of something ripe on the air, he stepped ten paces to the right and found a collapsed mine shaft.

  Jin stood at the edge and looked down into the gloom, his vampire eyes cutting through the darkness. At the bottom of the collapsed hole lay Marty Dunne.

  Jin curled his nose as the rancid stench of rotting flesh wafted towards him. Holly was right.

  “Constable,” he called, putting the woman out of his mind.

  Hank bounded over to him and looked down the shaft. “Bloody hell,” he exclaimed. “Is he…?”

  “Dead,” Jin replied, stating the obvious.

  The constable turned his back and covered his nose. “It stinks. How long has he been down there?”

  Jin sighed, already annoyed at the whole rigmarole. “By the rate of decomposition, I’d say about a week.”

  “A week?” Hank cursed. “What are we supposed to tell Sarah?”

  He looked down the shaft and assessed the depth. “The truth.”

  “Jesus.”

  Jin raised an eyebrow. “Here.” He clapped Hank on the shoulder and drew his gaze. Then he pointed to the edge of the mine shaft. “You can see by the way the ground is disturbed and how the wood here is splintered that he fell. There’s only one set of prints, which supports the theory that he wandered off on his own accord. This was misadventure, constable, and there was nothing anyone could’ve done to prevent it. You better radio it in.”

  Hank blinked, dazed by the compulsion. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to check the site and make sure it’s safe for retrieval.”

  “You’re going down there? But you don’t have the proper equip—”

  Jin grasped his shoulders again. “Hank, I’ve got supernatural strength. I don’t need equipment.” What was the point? He shook his head and scoffed, “Forget I just said that and radio in that we found him. I don’t want to be out here longer than I have to be.”

  As the constable raised his radio, Jin turned back to the shaft and leapt down into the depths. Landing beside the corpse, he knelt and peered at the wounds he’d inflicted the day he’d emerged from the Union Reef Mine.

  Marty Dunne’s neck was torn to shreds and his head lay at an unnatural angle, the latter a result from the fall into the shaft. Any teeth marks that may have been left in the man’s flesh didn’t seem to be present. Jin must’ve been hungrier than he realised. Any evidence the coroner found during the autopsy would be easily covered up with compulsion, and then the family would bury the body, and he’d be free of the first of many corpses he planned to pile onto Patrick’s doorstep.

  The real mystery was how a dead body got all the way out here on its own. There were no other tracks, no scents…nothing.

  Jin dusted off his palms and glared down at the body. What did he care? All that mattered was his revenge. The rest wasn’t his concern. Let them deal with it…if there was anything left after he was through with his plan. It was less than they deserved.

  Hank appeared at the edge of the shaft, his head and shoulders silhouetted by the blue sky above. “The cavalry is on the way.”

  “Good,” the vampire muttered. “Let’s get this farce over with.”

  CHAPTER 9

  The weather was cool in Dunloe the day Marty Dunne was laid to rest. Grey clouds skidded across the blue sky as a stiff breeze blew across town from the diggings. It was as if the weather had joined in the farewell, too.